


Coffee Shop Boys

by PrettyEvil



Category: Bring Me The Horizon, You Me At Six
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Alternate Universe - High School, Cute, Fluff, M/M, Misunderstandings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-11-30
Updated: 2014-11-30
Packaged: 2018-02-27 13:38:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,878
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2695025
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PrettyEvil/pseuds/PrettyEvil
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>There’s a boy who comes in to the café every Thursday after school and hides behind various sci-fi novels, occasionally taking sips of black coffee from the pale china the café supplies. </p><p>He's beautiful.</p><p>(A.K.A. The one where not much happens but they're cute about it anyway.)</p>
            </blockquote>





	Coffee Shop Boys

**Author's Note:**

> This is an unbeta'd plot bunny. I apologize for all mistakes in advance. I did this when I was supposed to be revising, oops! Still Enjoy!

 

There’s a boy who comes in to the café every Thursday after school and hides behind various sci-fi novels, occasionally taking sips of black coffee from the pale china the café supplies. Josh doesn’t know when it started, just that he’s been coming for as long as he had been working there six months ago.

He’s beautiful. Pale and tall, fragile looking, like glass, with dark hair curling around his ears. Long fingers sometimes tapped nonsensical rhythms out on the table and occasionally he would let out this little laugh whenever he reached a particularly funny section of his book.

Josh wants to go speak to him sometimes, to ask about the books he reads. He couldn’t though. The boy always looks like he never wants to be interrupted, especially by a loud boy with little in the way of a filter. The few times Josh had been his server he had felt awkward and silly but obviously the boy never noticed. He’d just ordered his coffee in a surprisingly strong but disinterested voice without really glancing at Josh. It was kind of disappointing.

Every time around five, the boy gets up from his seat and leaves with his school bag slung carelessly over one shoulder. He always gets into an old, silver ford with a harried looking mother in the front.

Josh always watches him leave.

Josh sees him at school sometimes, huddled up in an old Linkin Park hoodie, ear buds distracting him from the world. He’s in the year above at the sixth form but he doesn’t seem to have friends there. In fact the only reason Josh even knows his name is because Craig James, the rugby captain, teased him in the corridor. He’d called him Sykes. Josh kind of liked it.

The first time Sykes’ Mum was late. Josh had watched him stand in the cold drizzle of rain. Watched as his hands awkwardly played with the sleeves of his hoodie, glancing up and down the street in dismay. She was only ten minutes later than normal but Sykes had looked disappointed. Slouching as he walked to the car, rather than the brisk excitement of leaving.

The second time was worse though, by the thirty minute mark Josh was considering making a coffee to go and giving it to him for free. The coffee shop was small enough that Marissa, the Uni student he shared his shift with, wouldn’t care. However before he could force himself into doing it, the familiar car pulled up and Sykes was gone, obviously annoyed by the rain.

The third time, Josh figures he might as well just invite him back inside.

“Hey mate, uh, you know you can wait inside for your Mum right?” Josh asked awkwardly. Sykes looked around to stare at him.

“Oh, um,” he shrugged. “I kinda don’t have any more money for coffee, it seemed kinda rude, you know?”

Josh coughed and looked at the empty shop. Marissa had already gone home early. It was quiet enough that he wouldn’t mention it to his boss, Marissa had a lot of work to do for Uni and he couldn’t begrudge her time to do it.

“It’s cool, you can have one on the house. Not like I’m gonna get any other customers today,” he shrugged helplessly.

Sykes gave him a small relieved smile that made Josh’s stomach flip before nodding and following him inside.

“Didn’t think you noticed me,” Sykes said as Josh made the coffee behind the counter. Josh glanced back at him in confusion.

“Why wouldn’t I, you’ve been coming here every Thursday since I started. ‘Sides, I recognise you from school. Sykes isn’t it?” He asked.

Sykes ducked his head and grinned up through his lashes, “Oli actually, Sykes is my surname. It wouldn’t make much of a first name. You’re Josh, I presume,” he said nodding at Josh’s name tag. Josh smiled and nodded. “It suits you,” he continued.

“Thanks, Franceschi is my surname,” Josh said ducking his head slightly. “So why do you come here?” Josh asked, changing the subject and Oli grimaced.

“Mum has a longer shift on Thursday and Dad isn’t back until late so I’m stuck until then, ‘sides you do good coffee,” he replied, shooting Josh a small grin as he picked up the coffee Josh had put in front of him. “Aren’t you gonna have some?” he asked.

It was Josh’s time to grimace. “I, uh, don’t like coffee.” He began wiping down the counter in preparation of locking up. He only had thirty minutes left before it was closing time, he could afford packing up early. Oli though, made a horrified noise.

“You’re kidding,” Oli asked sounding slightly outraged.

Josh shuddered in disgust. “Nah, it’s just kind of gross I guess. Tea’s way better.”

Olin just shook his head in disbelief. “And here I thought I might like you. A coffee shop boy who doesn’t like coffee, that’s so wrong that is.”

Josh laughed, a little bubble of happiness fizzing in his stomach. “Nah, if I’d liked coffee I’d just end up with an addiction. I’m enough of a prick in the mornings as it is, I don’t need an addiction to feed on top.”

Oli laughed with him and then paused, hand digging into his jeans and pulling out an old bashed up phone and frowned.

“Hey, thanks for the coffee, mate, but I gotta run, my Mum’s meeting me on the high street. I’ll see you around, yeah?” He said, pulling a pale hand through his hair.

“Oh,” Josh said, disappointed. “Yeah, see you.” Oli gave him a little salute before rushing out the door leaving Josh alone in the empty café.

 

-

 

On Monday, he stood waiting for Alex in their usual corridor. He runs his hand along the familiar roughness of the carpeted walls. He still doesn’t understand it, even after all these years. Too his surprise, he sees Oli lent against the head of sixth form, Miss Crawford’s, office. His eyes are shut and his ear phones are plugged in. He looks amazing.

“Why are we staring at Oliver Sykes?” Alex asked from beside him making Josh jump. Clutching a hand to his chest he turns to look at his friend and shrugged.

“Think I spaced out.”

“Huh,” Alex said, giving Oli another glance. “You know, Jenny says he a drug dealer for those snobs up at Burbage.”

Josh gave him a look but Alex just continued on as per usual. “But Taylor says that he’s actually just sleeping with some of the boys there for money but then again Taylor always exaggerates.”

“Firstly why are you gossiping with the girls again? I thought you stopped when you asked out Elle Lancaster because Taylor swore she fancied you but then Elle just laughed in your face.” Alex blushed and muttered something about how it could have been true before Josh talks over him. “Second, why do they think he’s gay, let alone a gay prostitute?”

Alex gives him a look before picking up the bag he had dropped while they waited for the bell. “Come on, last year when James and Wilson caught him and that dude from some visiting rugby team making out in the locker rooms.” He laughed at Josh’s face. “How did you miss that man, it was all anyone could talk about for weeks.”

Josh wrinkled his nose. “I was stressed last year and, unlike you, I don’t gossip like some kind of teenage girl.”

Alex frowned. “Hey now, there is nothing wrong with gossiping. Its fun, I mean there has to be a reason girls do it so much, right?”

Josh laughed and patted him on the back. “Yeah, alright asshole, believe what you want. Come on Mr Kane is gonna be passed if we’re late again.”

Alex growled a little but turned in the direction of their tutor room. Josh chanced one more look down the corridor towards Oli and felt a pang of disappointment when he saw Oli was gone.

On Thursday he’s surprised when Oli joins him at the counter after Marissa left.

“Hey dude, how was your week?” he asked leaning over the counter, hands curled around his mug. Josh looks up from the essay he was supposed to be writing for his History class and half smiled.

“School like. Your?” Oli laughed and gave him a shrug.

“Same old,” he said. “The coffee tastes different this week.”

“Hmm, oh, right yeah,” he pointed his thumb over his shoulder. “New supplier, they’re doing a better deal.”

Oli frowned at him from the corner of Josh’s eye and he realized he wasn’t really giving Oli his full attention. When he looked up Olin’s smile returned and he took another sip.

“It’s good though, even if it is cheaper.”

Josh laughed and gave Oli a fond smile. “Coffee addict.”

“Coffee hating freak,” Oli shot back.

Josh grinned and then looked considering at Oli. Should he ask about the rumors or should he leave it.

“Did you known there are some pretty weird rumors about you?" Josh asked after a split decision.

Oli smirked slightly. "Been asking up about me, Franceschi?" he teased and Josh ducked his head, blushing.

"No! My friend Alex just likes to gossip a lot."

Oli just laughed at him before asking, "What do they say?"

Josh shrugged. "You're a drug dealer for Burbage Academy."

Olin snorted, "Heard that one before. Had a couple of wannabe stoner come up to me asking for weed and I kind of just glared at them until they went away, I think I've just got that sort of vibe, you know. I guess the Burbage thing comes from the times I hang out with a couple of mates who go there." That surprises Josh because Oli doesn't seem the sort and it must have shown on his face because Oli rolled his eyes. "They aren't all posh wankers, I mean sure they're wankers but they aren't all posh snobs."

"Okay, fair enough," Josh said and then paused, thinking about how to phrase the next one. "They also say you have sex with the guys there for money." Or he could just do that and put it out there like a twit.

Oli wrinkled his nose. "Okay, that's new but that one's not that surprising. I mean a gay kid hanging out with a load of rich kids. I can see where the fuckers from school might get that idea if they're trying hard to come up with stupid stories. It's not true though," he proclaimed and then he glanced up from under his eye lashes. "You're cool with the gay thing right?" he asked carefully as if he's unsure whether Josh will be an asshole or not.

"Yeah, it's cool. Besides I think I might be bi, maybe, I dunno. Like, Jenny and Taylor are totally hot and I would be down with that but like, sometimes guys are hot too?" It comes out as a question because despite the fact he is mostly-certain of his sexuality, he hasn't actually talked about it.

Oli gave him a speculative glance before grinning slow and easy. "Bi huh, that's cool. Sounds a bit confusing though. I was just like, I like dudes, end of story. You must have more difficulty deciding."

"Nah, it makes sense when I think about it," Josh said, squirming a little under Olin's slightly intense gaze. "So, uh, do you know anything about the Roman or Greek gods cause I've got an essay due for tomorrow and it's still not done."

Oli smirks slightly flicking a stray curl out of his eyes before shrugging. "I know they had a lot of sex, but that's essentially it. Still, I'll help out where I can."

 

-

 

They hang out over the coffee shop counter every Thursday for almost two months. They talk about their music tastes and Josh awkwardly talks about the sort of band he sings for and Oli mentions the band he plans on forming when he finds the people to work with. They joke about the twats at school and the teachers there. It's awesome and sometimes he think Oli might be flirting with him and other times he knows Oli is flirting with him and it's fucking brilliant.

Sometimes at school, they'll pass each other in the corridor and Olin will grin at him and Josh can't help but smile back, a butterfly beating its wings in his stomach.

However, in the whole time they've talked, it had always been on a Thursday which is why Josh was surprised when Oli appeared at the counter on his Wednesday shift.

"Hey man, what are you doing here?" Josh asked confused.

"So I was thinking," Oli said not even bothering to return his hello. "I can get us into the show at Zane's, you know that club that all the local bands play at, and the band is supposed to be really awesome and I was thinking maybe it could be like, a date? I mean only if you want to, it's whatever."

Josh gaped for a long moment, surprise and utter delight fluttering his veins. Olin kept babbling about how it was 'cool if you don't want to, no pressure, man'.

"Oli," he said, cutting him off. Oli went silent. "That'd be brilliant."

Oli's face transformed into a grin. "Really? Sweet. Can I have your number so I can text you the details and stuff?"

Josh felt a shy smile pull at his lips as he pulled out his phone and rattled off his number. Oli sent him a message that just said _Hi :)_ and Josh laughed, saving the number to his contacts.

Oli was still grinning until a horn sounded outside and he winced at the sight of the silver ford parked outside. "I gotta go and I won't see you on Thursday either 'cause I have a thing after school but I guess I'll see you Friday."

"Yeah, can't wait," Josh said and Oli shot him a gorgeous grin before leaning over the counter and kissing him on the cheek.

"Me too."

 

-

 

"You're acting weird," Alex complained, the next day. "You're all happy and shit."

"Hey," Josh said, hitting him on the shoulder in faux-outrage.

“See that’s what I’m talking about, usually you would tell me to shut the fuck up so something must be wrong.”

Josh glared at him from the seat behind him. They were sat in tutor where everyone essentially just chatted until Mr Chester finished registering them and the bell went, signalling class. Alex was sat in front of him, both by the window so he had to keep turning around.

“No seriously, you only acted like this when you won those concert tickets a couple of years ago and then that time when Katie J asked you out, so which is it this time?”

Josh rolled his eyes but he couldn’t help the grin that made its way on to his face. “Okay, so I have a date,” he admitted quietly.

Alex lit up in delight. “Oh my god, who’s the lucky girl?”

Josh winced. “Boy actually,” Alex shot him a surprised look but he didn’t look any less eager to find out about the person as he made a motion as if to say ‘well who is it?’. “Possibly Oli Sykes,” he said carefully.

“Oli Sykes!” said Alex, surprised. Josh shh’d him and waved a hand to keep him quiet.

“Yeah, Oli Sykes. He’s been coming to the café for months and a couple of months ago we got talking and then yesterday he asked me if I wanted to go to a show with him, on like, a date,” Josh murmured.

“Holy shut, why didn’t you tell me?” Alex asked and Josh ducked his head embarrassed.

“Only time we ever talked about him was when you said he was either a dealer or a male whore. Those rumors aren’t true, by the way,” he said before Alex could open his mouth. “I just never thought to bring it up.”

“No but like not just that. I had no idea you were even into guys,” Alex said.

“Never really came up,” Josh replied raising his hands in a ‘what can you do’ gesture.

“Huh,” Alex said wonderingly. “Fair enough. I can’t believe you have a date with a year twelve.”

Josh laughed at his friend’s attitude and relaxed slightly in his seat. At least he could depend on Alex to be cool if he properly started dating Oli.

 

-

 

On the Friday he went through school with a happy little bounce in his step. Alex kept teasing him, saying he kept sighing wistfully like a girl. He passed Oli once in the corridor, Oli leaning against the wall for his next class, and Oli had winked at him and Josh ducked his head blushing. Alex had laughed out right and elbowed him in the stomach, in return Josh had slapped him in the back of the head. When he had turned to look at him again Oli was smirking at him in amusement.

Then it was six o’clock on the Friday evening and Josh was waiting in front of the old cinema where Oli said he would meet him. He felt awkward stood in front of the neon lights of the cinema in a pair of his tightest jeans and an old Marilyn Manson shirt. His phone was in his hand and he kept checking his phone every five seconds to look at the time. His neck hurt from looking over the crowds in search of Oli and his scruffy vans were making a tapping noise against the hard concrete as he nervously moved his feet to an unknown rhythm.

Oli was already ten minutes late, which okay, Oli lived pretty far from the centre of town but Josh figured Oli would text him if he was going to be late. He watched as a pretty girl hugged a boy who had also been waiting for the last few minutes. They smiled at each other happily and walked hand in hand into the bright entrance of the cinema. Josh felt a small pang of hurt flutter in his chest.

By the twenty minute mark he was getting nervous. A woman who had been working her shift at the kiosk had walked out past him telling him ‘bad luck, mate’ with a consoling pat on the shoulder.

Finally Josh bought up his contacts and tapped the call button with Oli’s name. He lifted the phone to his ear and listened to the dial tone.

It kept ringing until finally the automatic voicemail message played and Josh felt an angry rush of hurt pulse through him.

“Hey Oli, it’s Josh, uh, I guess you’re not here right now. So like you had an emergency or whatever that’s cool but could you like, call me so I don’t feel like a totally twit but like, if you didn’t come because you couldn’t be bothered then like, don’t bother calling, yeah? See you around, I guess.”

It felt mean to say it but it was the first time he’s ever been ditched on a date and it felt kind of crap.

After half an hour he went home and curled up in a ball in his room playing the angriest metal he had on his iPod through his headphones. He stared at his poster covered wall and the way all his clothes fell simply out his wardrobe and sighed rolling on to his back. In his hand his phone was set to vibrate but nobody called all night.

 

-

 

He was in a rubbish mood all weekend. He snapped at his sister when she tried to get him to help her with homework. He yelled at his Dad when he insulted Josh’s choice in t-shirts which wasn’t anything new but for some reason it really pissed him off that day. He was rude to his mother when she tried to ask what was wrong and she just hugged him when he apologized.

He felt angry and stupid for thinking that Oli might have wanted to actually go out with him and he couldn’t help but wonder what he had done wrong.

He was still annoyed when he got in to school on Monday. First there had been no milk left so he hadn’t been able to eat his cereal and then there was no bread for toast so he had to have one of his Mum’s cereal bars which all tasted like honey covered cardboard. After that it had begun raining cats and dogs outside, a freak downpour which had begun half way to school and so he didn’t have a coat with him so he was completely drenched when he got into school. He already knew at least one of his school books must be ruined from water damage.

He only hoped that he didn’t see Oli because he thought that if he did he might actual cry.

He got to his usual locker and Alex seemed to take pity on him because he dragged him into the bathroom and handed him his spare pair of jeans and his PE top. “You know I always get food down my jeans and it’s not like we have PE today.”

Once he got into Alex’s ridiculously tight jeans Alex gave him a sympathetic glance. “How are you doing?”

Josh laughed bitterly. “Oh great you know, first my date doesn’t bother to show up, making me wait outside the old cinema like a tool for half an hour and then he doesn’t call me back either. Then I felt pretty sorry for myself all weekend annoying my whole family and then to top it off I have one of the shittiest Mondays in months.”

Alex gaped at him for a second before saying. “Didn’t turn up, shit, you haven’t heard?”

“Haven’t heard what?” Josh snapped, looking in the mirror trying to wring some of the water out his hair.

“Oli got hit by a car Friday after school.”

“What?” Josh asked sharply.

“Yeah mate, he’s in hospital. I figured you knew. Maybe his phone broke then in the accident. I overheard two teachers talking about it a few minutes before you showed up. They say he’ll be fine but their keeping him at St. Mary’s for a few more days to make sure.”

Josh pressed to palms on either side of one of the sinks and blinked at Alex in the mirror. “You’re serious?”

“Deadly, I heard some of the other students gossiping about it although they were also coming up with some pretty ridiculous theories that it’s some kind of cover up and that he OD’d or some shit,” Alex said disgusted. Vaguely Josh felt that was mildly hypocritical of Alex all things considering.

Mostly though he felt a strange mixture of relief that Oli hadn’t just ditched him and horrified because Oli was in hospital after getting hit by a fucking car!

“Holy shut,” he muttered to himself.

“I know right, I can’t believe them sometimes,” Alex enthused. Josh shot him a weird look before shaking out his hair one more time.

“Come on mate, we’ve got lessons to go too,” he said.

“Yeah, alright,” Alex replied, then perked up. “Do you think you should visit him? Bring him flowers or a teddy bear or some shit.”

Josh rolled his eyes and pushed Alex into the hall way. He felt a lot better than he had been, although a sickening curl of worry kept playing in his stomach and Alex’s idea decided to stick with him for most of the day.

 

-

 

He wondered into the atrium of the hospital after school on Tuesday feeling pretty put of place. He had just sat through another day of hearing ridiculous rumours about Oli and he was ready to bash his head against a wall. He wondered up to the front desk and waited as a tired looking man with a crying toddler asked the bored looking receptionist for directions to the children ward. Once they moved on Josh moved up in line.

“Hi,” he said. “I’m looking to visit Oliver Sykes, do you uh, know where I can find him?”

The lady gave him a distracted glance before typing Oli’s name into the computer. “Yes, yes, Oliver Sykes you say? You’ll find him in Ward 18, dearie. Fourth floor. Have a nice visit.” She said disinterested.

“Right,” Josh said under his breath. He looked at the signs on the wall and dragged himself towards the lifts. He lent awkwardly against the wall as two distracted looking nurses joined him in the lift and felt kind of messy in comparison to their clean scrubs.

The corridors were long and winding once he got out of the lift and it took him another give minutes to find the reception for the Ward.

He asked the friendly looking receptionist if he could go to Oli and she smiled at him pointing him in the direction of his room. “He hadn’t had any friends visiting him yet, just family so I suspect he’ll be glad to see you,” she mentioned delighted. He gave her a half smile and slowly walked towards the door of Oli’s room.

The door was open and Oli appeared to be watching TV half-asleep. He looked pale and bruised with a purple lump on the side of his forehead. Mostly he looked okay, if a bit on the skinny side but then again Oli had never been anything more than thin. He still looked as pretty as ever and Josh wondered for a moment if he should really be there.

Still he wrapped on the door frame to get his attention and Oli looked up quickly then broke into a startled grin.

“Holy shit what are you doing here?” and then. “Holy shit, I missed our date. I am so, so sorry.”

Josh laughed slightly and walked more into the room to stand by his bed. “It’s cool, I think getting hit by a car counts as a reasonable excuse. Sorry I didn’t come by earlier I only found out about the accident yesterday and I had work after school.”

“Oh don’t worry, I only woke up yesterday morning, had a pretty bad bang on the head though fortunately no permanent damage. But shit, if you only knew yesterday, crap did you think I ditched you? I am so sorry. I should have called you yesterday but my phone’s missing, I think it was in my hand when I got hit and it must have fallen into the bushes or something because nobody got it for me.”

Josh smiled, glad he finally had an answer to why he hadn’t been called. “Like I said it’s cool, you couldn’t help it. Do you know how long you’re stuck here?” he asked.

Oli shifted in the bed. “Not too much longer, they just need to do a few more scans just to make sure and-- what the hell is that?” he broke off laughing.

Josh looked down at the gift in his hand and flushed. “I… You’re like, supposed to bring gifts to people in hospital and I doubt you would appreciate flowers and I don’t know what chocolate you want and I saw this and I thought it was cute.” Josh fumbled with the teddy for a moment before handing it to Oli awkwardly. Oli looked at it, obviously amused and gave it an Eskimo kiss.

“I think I’m gonna call him Josh junior,” he said grinning when Josh made a pained noise.

“Please don’t,” Josh begged and Oli grinned again.

“Okay, I’m kidding, no I think I’ll name him Mister Bear,” Oli said.

Josh groaned, “I’m already regretting buying him. That is so uncreative.”

Oli just laughed at him. “Whatever man, he’s mine now. I get to call him what I want!” He said, snuggling the bear closer to his chest.

Josh couldn’t help but grin then and then he tipped his head to the side. “Are you sure you’re okay?”

Oli nodded, “Yeah, glad for some company though. Come on sit on the bed with me, there’s an old episode of Top Gear about to play and I want to watch it.”

Josh floundered for a moment before Oli shuffled to the side a bit and patted the bed next to him.

“Come on, I don’t bite,” Oli said and Josh gave up, carefully clambering into the seat next to him.

After watching the beginning of the show, Josh jumped when Oli’s hand slipped into him and he looked from their clasped hands to Oli’s face which was directed at the screen but his lip was twitching a bit in amusement.

“So I was thinking, when I’m out of here, we could maybe try again. The date thing,” Oli said finally, turning to look at him.

In a moment of bravery Josh caught Oli in a quick kiss before ducking his head. It had been barely a second but Josh still blushed from the butterflies it caused.

“I’d like that,” he said. Oli gaped at him for a moment before grinning and squeezing his hand.

“Cool,” he replied and they both turned back to watch Top Gear, fingers entwined.

 

_Fin_


End file.
